{"id":555546,"date":"2026-06-26T16:58:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T16:58:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/555546\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T16:58:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T16:58:29","slug":"7-track-ready-highlights-from-the-2026-artcurial-le-mans-classic-sale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/555546\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Track-Ready Highlights From the 2026 Artcurial Le Mans Classic Sale"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\tStay up to speed with stories written by drivers, for drivers.<\/p>\n

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Artcurial is auctioning dozens of cars, parts, and memorabilia during a special sale<\/a> held on the sidelines of this year\u2019s Le Mans Classic race. The auction catalog includes seriously desirable classics, such as a rare Alfa Romeo Giulia GTC<\/a> and a limited-edition Audi A1 Quattro<\/a>, but it\u2019s the race cars that really stand out. From a documented Porsche 906 to a GT1-spec Chrysler Viper, here are some of the highlights from the Artcurial Le Mans Classic sale. Bidding will open on July 3, 2026, at the Circuit des 24 Heures in France.<\/p>\n

\"1967Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1967Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1967Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1967Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1967Artcurial<\/p>\n

Lot 45<\/strong><\/p>\n

Assigned chassis number 906-161 and registered in France, this 1967 Porsche 906 is the second-to-last example built. Its racing history is well documented: Built in June 1967, it was entered in the Trofeo Frescobaldi at the Mugello Circuit by the factory the following July and finished first in its category. It was later sold to a privateer who entered it in several races across Italy, including the Imola 500 Kilometers.<\/p>\n

Privateer Vittorio Mascari bought it in 1971, raced it extensively, and kept it until 2007. Its next owner had it fully restored while keeping as many original parts as possible. Artcurial believes chassis number 906-161 is one of the few 906 models still in its original configuration, and expects to sell it for between \u20ac1.8 million and \u20ac2.4 million (about $2 million and $2.7 million at the current conversion rate). The sale includes documentation, like a Italian Passaporto Tecnico, as well as period pictures of the car.<\/p>\n

\"1972Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1972Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1972Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1972Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1972Artcurial<\/p>\n

Lot 49<\/strong><\/p>\n

Duckhams isn\u2019t a household name in the car industry, but this car holds a special place in the history of racing: It\u2019s the first car designed entirely by Gordon Murray<\/a>. It was entered in the 1972 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, though it finished 12th after going off the track due to rain. The fact that it managed to finish the race at all was impressive, because only 15 of the 56 cars entered reached the finish line that year.<\/p>\n

The car later competed in several races, including the Six Hours of Watkins Glen and Le Mans in 1973 and in 1974, but it retired every time. It was then sold, fitted with a Volkswagen 1600 body for club racing, and restored to its 1972 specifications in 2002. It returned to the track for historic events like Le Mans Classic in the 2010s, but Artcurial notes that it has only been driven a few miles in smaller events since 2018. <\/p>\n

The sale includes a history file with correspondence between Alain de Cadenet, who commissioned the car, and various suppliers such as Cosworth, Lockheed, Lucas, and Dunlop. Body panels, several spare front and rear wheels, construction drawings, and a certificate of authenticity signed by Gordon Murray are included in the sale as well, which makes this former Le Mans racer particularly well documented. Artcurial expects a selling price between \u20ac700,000 and \u20ac1,100,000 (about $800,000 and $1.3 million).<\/p>\n

\"1974Michel MAREVILLE<\/p>\n

\"1974Wouter Melissen<\/p>\n

\"1974Wouter Melissen<\/p>\n

Lot 44<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of 54 examples built, the 911 Carrera 3.0 RSR in the Le Mans Classic sale is exceptionally well documented. It was delivered new in Stuttgart, Germany, close to Porsche\u2019s headquarters, and it started its racing career shortly after in Italy. Count Girolamo Capra entered it in the 1974 edition of the Targa Florio, where it finished sixth overall. It also finished 11th at the Targa Florio in 1975 and fifth at the 6 Hours of Monza. He also entered it in smaller events, such as Italian hill climbs.<\/p>\n

Its next owner continued racing, and the RSR finished fourth in the 1977 Mille Miglia Rally, and kept it until the middle of the 1980s. By that point, the car needed a complete rebuild. It then went through the hands of several owners until it was purchased by Bernie Ecclestone in 1992 and fully restored. The F1 boss kept the Porsche until 2007, when he sold it to a collector in the United States. It was restored a second time in the early 2020s and returned to the distinctive yellow livery it wore during the 1975 Targa Florio.<\/p>\n

Artcurial notes that the engine and the transmission were recently rebuilt and that the car hasn\u2019t been driven since, so the next owner will likely want to go easy on it. The sale includes a spare RSR engine, spare magnesium wheels, pictures taken during the restoration, as well as pictures of the car racing in the 1970s. There\u2019s also a Porsche certificate that confirms this is one of the 54 examples of the RSR built. This 911 is expected to sell for between \u20ac750,000 and \u20ac1,250,000 (about $856,000 and $1.4 million).<\/p>\n

\"1979Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1979Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1979Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1979Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1979Artcurial<\/p>\n

Lot 48<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unveiled in 1977, the Lotus 78 stood proud as one of the most groundbreaking cars of its era thanks to its use of ground effect with featured side pods, side skirts, and an underbody shape that led to its nickname, the \u201cWing Car.\u201d The downforce generated by these elements gave the 78 a major advantage over its rivals.<\/p>\n

The example in the Artcurial Le Mans Classic sale is the fifth example built, and it was assembled using a spare chassis that Team Lotus had. It never raced, and was built to be displayed and it spent decades in a museum, but it was assigned the chassis number (78\/3) of another 78 that raced and crashed at Monza, so it\u2019s eligible to compete in historic events, such as the Grand Prix Historique in Monaco.<\/p>\n

Lotus restored the car in 2009 and later sold it to a Japanese collector. The consignor bought it about 10 years ago and has never driven it; It has been stored in a private collection \u201clike a historical statue,\u201d according to Artcurial. This 78 will consequently need miscellaneous work before it can hit the track again. Artcurial expects to sell it for between \u20ac1,000,000 and \u20ac1,500,000 (about $1.1 million and $1.7 million).<\/p>\n

\"1980Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1980Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1980Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1980Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1980Artcurial<\/p>\n

Lot 31<\/strong><\/p>\n

BMW spent a substantial amount of time and money developing the M1<\/a> only to end up with a race car that couldn\u2019t race in FIA competition due to rule changes. The mid-engine coupe consequently raced in a one-make series called the Procar Championship, which took place in 1979 and 1980. <\/p>\n

Sold new in Italy as a road-going model, this M1 was rebuilt to Procar specifications in 1982 and raced in the United States from 1983 to 1986. It joined Franco Sbarro\u2019s collection<\/a> in Switzerland at the end of its racing career, and it returned to the track as a historic race car after receiving a full restoration in 2005. Years of track use took their toll, so it was fully restored for the second time in 2019. It has since participated in historic events such as France\u2019s Tour Auto between 2019 and 2023, and it\u2019s currently set up for road use.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean it can\u2019t be raced. It can be easily configured for track use, according to Artcurial, and the sale includes a Historic Technical Passport (HTP) valid for 10 years as well as a spare set of wheels. Artcurial\u2019s pre-auction estimate is pegged at \u20ac900,000 to \u20ac1,200,000 (about $1 million to $1.2 million).<\/p>\n

\"1995Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1995Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1995Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1995Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1995Artcurial<\/p>\n

Lot 22<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chrysler enlisted the help of French outfit Oreca to turn the Viper into a race car capable of taking on the biggest and most respected names in international sports car racing. The model took first overall in the 2001 and 2002 editions of the Spa 24 Hours, among other events, and it won its class in the several races including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 12 Hours of Sebring, and the Fuji 1000 Kilometers. The example in the Artcurial catalog contributed to these successes, as it was used by Oreca as a development vehicle for the 2003 season.<\/p>\n

Assigned chassis number C45, it raced in the Italian GT Championship between 2003 and 2006 and won first in its class several times. It made its way to France after it retired from racing, and it was given a full restoration that included repainting it the white-and-blue livery from the 2004 Italian GT Championship. <\/p>\n

The track-only parts that set the GT1-category apart from the regular-production Viper are all accounted for. These include an 8.0-liter V-10, a 6-speed Holinger sequential transmission, Brembo brakes, and 18-inch magnesium wheels. All told, the Viper weighs about 2535 pounds, which is almost 1000 pounds less than a street-legal model. Better yet, this Viper is eligible to compete in historic races around the world. Artcurial expects to sell this Viper for between \u20ac500,000 and \u20ac700,000 (about $570,000 and $798,000).<\/p>\n

\"1997Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1997Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1997Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1997Artcurial<\/p>\n

\"1997Artcurial<\/p>\n

Lot 17<\/strong><\/p>\n

Renault-owned Alpine<\/a> is the brand that usually comes to mind when conversation turns to French sports cars. Indeed, it\u2019s the country\u2019s best-known purveyor of performance automobiles, but there have been plenty of others. Venturi, which was technically based in Monaco but built cars in France<\/a>, almost merged into the mainstream.<\/p>\n

The example in the Artcurial Le Mans Classic sale catalog is the first 300 Atlantique built. It started life as a prototype used to develop the model, and it was later used as a press car as well as a management car. The first owner commissioned numerous modifications before taking delivery: He asked Venturi to paint it in Passion Red (a color developed specifically for him), to install Sparco seats, and to upholster the interior with Alcantara. Adjustable shock absorbers were also fitted, and the car was finally registered in 1997.<\/p>\n

Power comes from a mid-mounted, 3.0-liter PRV V-6 tuned to 281 horsepower and linked to a five-speed manual transmission. Period road tests pegged the 300 Atlantique\u2019s zero-to-62-mph time at about five seconds and its top speed at nearly 175 mph; It could easily keep up with a Porsche 911 of the same era. Artcurial expects to sell this Venturi for between \u20ac110,000 and \u20ac130,000 (about $125,000 and $148,000).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stay up to speed with stories written by drivers, for drivers. Get automotive news, DIY tips, market trends,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":555547,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[74],"tags":[51589,18,19,17,22480,82],"class_list":["post-555546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-auctions","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-motorsports","tag-technology"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116817477014074827","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=555546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/555546\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=555546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=555546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=555546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}